The subject matter disclosed herein relates to turbine engines. More particularly, the subject matter relates to cross-fire tubes located in combustor assemblies.
In gas turbine engines, a combustor converts chemical energy of a fuel and air-fuel mixture into thermal energy. The thermal energy is conveyed by a fluid, often air from a compressor, via a transition piece to a turbine where the thermal energy is converted to mechanical energy. These fluids flow downstream to one or more turbines that extract energy therefrom to produce the mechanical energy output as well as power to drive the compressor.
A combustion system for a gas turbine engine typically includes a number of generally cylindrical combustors disposed about the turbine in an annular arrangement, with each combustor supplying a motive fluid to an arcuate section of a turbine nozzle. In some cases, short conduits or “cross fire tubes” interconnect the combustion chambers of adjoining combustors, where the cross fire tubes provide for the ignition of fuel in one chamber from ignited fuel in an adjacent chamber in order to obviate the need for providing a spark plug for each combustor.
Air may be directed between a flow sleeve and liner of the combustor assembly, where the air is received at a head end of the combustor is used for combustion and also cools combustion components it flows across. In some cases, cross fire tube assemblies may interfere or disrupt air flow to the combustor head end and, thus, adversely affect combustion and turbine efficiency.